The Christian invaders had nothing comparable. Those cauldrons were substantial-Hosler points out you could fit four cows’ heads in each. At one point in the Third Crusade, an observer noted several kitchens in the sultan Saladin’s camp, with up to nine cauldrons each.

Army Command & General Staff College, a medievalist military expert and author of The Siege of Acre, 1189-1191. It happened twice at the siege of Acre,” says John Hosler, associate professor of military history at the U.S. Later, during crusades like those in the 14th century, called by Pope Innocent III, deals were made with the Venetian fleet and merchants to keep soldiers supplied.ĭuring battles, 'if crusaders got to the Muslim camp they would stop fighting and start eating. During the First Crusade, soldiers would have provided their own food stores, which they would have mortgaged their property or sold possessions to buy. But this was the food they would have brought with them, supplemented with fruits and vegetables or cheese purchased locally. For their supply of fat, Roman troops, unsurprisingly, looked to olive oil.ĭuring the Crusades, the average Christian soldier in a siege would have some dried meat and grain to make things like porridge. With their food, they were given wine-a diluted version of what we’re used to-or something closer to vinegar that would help reduce bacteria in their drinking water. They carried very heavy gear, on bad roads, and that’s when they were not expending calories fighting. Whatever the exact amount, it would not be enough to sustain a Roman soldier, who was “a mule more than anything else,” says Martin. “For an army, you have to kill 120 sheep a day just for the meat ration. One source says soldiers were given one pound of meat daily. From the limited evidence of what the administration in Rome provided the soldiers, he adds, the most important source of calories were carbohydrates: barley or wheat. Martin, a professor in Classics at the College of the Holy Cross. Roman armies hunted everything that was available, archaeological remains of wild animals show, says Thomas R.

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